NBA Live 09 Walkthrough & Strategy Guide

Published: Jan 30, 2008

NBA Live 09 Offense

In this section, we will be covering the basics of an effective offense in NBA Live 09.

Know Your Players---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Before you can win a championship, you need to have a firm understanding of what your team is capable of. This is not limited to your starting five, of course. Look at the attribute ratings each of your players have in shooting and passing, for instance. Your center probably has pretty poor ratings for perimeter shooting, so try and keep him down by the basket whenever possible. On the same token, your point guard probably won't be a great dunker, so feed the ball to your big man in the paint.

Practice Shooting---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Before getting right into the game, practice your shooting in the gym. Get a feeling for the controls and understand how the shooting system works. You want to release the ball at the highest point of your jump. Releasing it too early or too late will increase the odds of you missing your shot. Once you think you've gotten this under control, go ahead and play a regular game. Shooting with no one defending you is one thing, but it's completely different to have someone trying to either steal the ball or has his hand up in your grill.

In NBA Live 09, you have a much more immersive practice environment thanks to the NBA Academy. Sure, you can just pick up a ball and shoot around, but there are several practice modes spread across the court. To find one, go to one of the coaches standing along the baseline when you are on the court. Each coach offers a different set of practice sessions. Work on these and you'll do just fine.

Take It To The Hole---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The defense won't often give you an open lane to the rim, but when it does, take advantage of it. Regardless of the size of the player, they can all either do a dunk or a layup of some kind. Taller players will be able to do big dunks, while good shooting guards will be able to pull off flashier dunks and/or layups. Driving the ball down the lane not only allows you to pull off a high percentage shot, but it increases the odds of you getting fouled and getting to the free throw line, occasionally giving you the opportunity for a three point play. You can also get the opposing team into foul trouble when you drive to the basket often enough.

Pick-and-Roll, Baby!

Over the years, this and other basic basketball plays have been forgotten when it comes to basketball video games. Thankfully, there's more of an emphasis on it this year and has made calling for a pick and roll very easy.

The basic concept is for one of your opponents to come up and stand to the side of the guy who is guarding you. You run to the backside of your teammate, who sets a screen, preventing your defender from guarding you, leaving you open to either a jumper or possibly a drive to the hoop.

Depending on how long you hold the pick and roll button, it will change your opponent's movement. If you hold it for just a second or two, he'll slip to the basket and will usually be open for an easy bucket in the paint. However, if you hold the button for a few seconds longer, your teammate will step out after setting the pick and will be open for a jumper from the 12-16 foot range. We strongly recommend working on this play more so than just about any other special play because it's so easy to do and can be difficult to defend.

John Stockton and Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz famously used the pick and roll to get their team to the NBA Finals in the 1990s and there's no reason it can't work for you.

Don't Dribble Into A Crowd---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The CPU often does a very good job at clogging the lane to the rim. It doesn't matter which player you're using, you'll eventually have the ball stolen from. Instead of always driving the ball to the hoop, pass it to someone who is open or pull up for a jumper.

Kick It Out For a Three---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Whether you're playing against the CPU or a human player, they will usually play some pretty stingy defense in the paint. Because of this, throw it in to your big man. As the defense swarms him, toss it out to your perimeter shooter for an open shot. We've found this to work remarkably well on teams which have good guards and small forwards who can shoot threes.

Hit The Boards---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------When you miss a shot, don't give up. Keep your center and power forward near the rim when possible. Grabbing rebounds isn't particularly easy. It relies very much on positioning and timing. You have to time your jump properly. Work on your rebounding to get second chance points, something every team needs. The NBA Academy features a practice session which specializes in this very thing.